


Neither Tricks Nor Treats

by AlexIsOkay



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, Halloween, Lumina is the youngest Farron sister
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26938816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexIsOkay/pseuds/AlexIsOkay
Summary: Chaos grips the Farron household when Lumina informs Serah that she's too old to go trick or treating this year.
Relationships: Lightning & Lumina & Serah Farron
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	Neither Tricks Nor Treats

It was rare for Lightning to get a single moment to herself. Between holding down a full-time job and raising two sisters (even if Serah was past the age where she actually needed someone raising her), Lightning spent a good amount of her time working, commuting back and forth between her job and Lumina’s school, shopping, cleaning up around the house, helping Lumina with her homework, threatening Snow with the garden hose when he tried to come by to see Serah, and dealing with angry parents who were annoyed that Lumina had bullied a boy three years older than her and twice her height. In the middle of it all, it was a miracle if Lightning ever actually managed to find time to herself to relax, but tonight, after a hectic day of many of the above-mentioned activities, she had finally found a few minutes to unwind alone in her room with a book, and _hopefully_ she would have some time to herself before-

“Lightniiiiiiiiiing!” Serah whined, bursting through the door to her sister’s room just as Lightning had finally settled in and started to read. “Lumina won’t let me take her trick or treating this year.”

“Excuse me?” Lightning replied, glancing up from her book to look back at Serah, merely staring at her with a blank expression.

“Lumina!” Serah repeated, stomping her way forward towards Lightning’s bed, balling up her hands at her sides and looking like this was the absolute most devastating thing in the world to her. “She lets me take her trick or treating every single year, right? But a few minutes ago I said we should start thinking about our costumes for this year, and she said she’s not going! She said she’s too old for it!”

“Okay,” Lightning replied. “You’re telling me this why?”

“So you can do something about it!” Serah huffed. “You’re the boss of this house, so she has to listen to you!”

“So you want me to… Force her to go trick or treating with you.”

“Yes!”

“I’m not going to do that.” Serah scowled at Lightning when she said that, but Lightning just stared back at her, eventually sitting up more straight on her bed as she resigned herself to the fact that this conversation wasn’t going to be over any time soon. “She’s getting older, you know,” Lightning went on. “This was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“She’s not _that_ old!” Serah protested. “She’s only twelve! I went trick or treating until I was fourteen!”

“Yeah,” Lightning replied. “But you were also-” She cut herself off before finishing that sentence, but it still wasn’t fast enough, and Serah was already staring back at her with narrowed eyes and a scrunched up pout.

“I was also _what_ , Lightning?”

“Nothing,” Lightning said, shaking her head.

“Say it.”

“All I’m saying,” Lightning sighed, “is how many pink stuffed animals do you have on your bed right now?”

“That’s no fair!” Serah protested. “You gave me at least three of those.”

“But you still like them. That’s my point,” Lightning replied. “Lumina’s growing up a lot faster than you did. Just look at her. She’s already going through her goth phase.”

“I guess so,” Serah mumbled. “You didn’t go through your goth phase until you were, like, fifteen.”

“We don’t need to talk about that.”

“But Halloween is the most goth holiday of the year!” Serah went on. “She’s always loved Halloween.”

“And she probably does still love Halloween,” Lightning replied. “But she clearly feels like she’s too old for the more childish parts of it. It’s the same way she just demands money from me when she loses a tooth now instead of leaving it under her pillow."

“I would’ve kept the tooth fairy thing up if you’d let me,” Serah muttered.

“I know it’s weird to see her growing up,” Lightning went on. “But we can’t force her to stay a kid. If she thinks she’s too old for trick or treating, we have to respect that.”

“I guess you’re right,” Serah muttered, shoulders slumping down in defeat as she let out a long, pathetic sigh. “We don’t really have a choice.”

“I’m glad you understand,” Lightning replied, opening up her book again, hoping she would _finally_ get to read now.

“I’m gonna have to find something else to do on Halloween, though,” Serah went on. “Snow invited me to this party, and I told him I couldn’t go because I would be spending the night with Lumina, but I guess now that I’m free-”

“Dammit,” Lightning said, slamming her book shut all over again. “I’ll go talk to her.”

* * *

Lightning stood out the door to Lumina’s room, staring at the crudely drawn picture of her own face with a giant red X through it that had been hanging there for years now- ever since Lightning had had the _audacity_ to go into Lumina’s room to clean it up a bit while she was at school one day. Clearing her throat and taking a deep breath Lightning knocked against the door, and quickly heard a voice answering from the other side.

“What’s the password?”

“It’s me,” she called back.

“That’s not the password.” Lightning let out a long sigh at that, but she knew she could go back and forth for the rest of the night, and it wouldn’t end in her favor. Letting out a long sigh, she quickly caved in and answered.

“Meow meow choco chow.”

“You may enter.” Pushing the door open, and hoping Serah hadn’t been within earshot to hear that, Lightning stepped into a room that didn’t at all look like it belonged to a twelve-year-old girl. The walls were painted a dark blue (Lightning had negotiated that down from pitch black), and covered in posters for bands that looked the way conversations with Lumina typically made Lightning feel. And then there was Lumina herself, dressed in all black, laying on her bed with one earbud in, while the other was hanging loose and blasting music so loudly Lightning could hear the angry guitars and chaotic drums all the way from where she was standing.

“Lumina,” Lightning said, approaching her bed.

“Claire,” Lumina replied, with all the confidence of someone twice Lightning’s age, rather than half it. Lightning’s brows creased down when she heard that, though really, she supposed she should have been used to this by now. Lumina had taken to calling her by her real name recently, and she didn’t much care for it.

“I came to talk to you,” Lightning said, finally coming to a stop at the foot of Lumina’s bed.

“Yeah, I’d kinda figured that out.”

“It’s about Serah.” As soon as Lightning mentioned that Lumina’s eyes narrowed, and she finally sat up, pulling her other earbud out as well.

“Is this about trick or treating?” she asked.

“She’s upset that you won’t go with her.”

“Tough shit.”

“Language.”

“Shit.”

“Look,” Lightning sighed, figuring there was no point in beating around the bush. “Serah has two options for Halloween night. She’s either going to take you trick or treating, or she’s going to be at a party with Snow. And I know you don’t like him any more than I do.”

“And that’s automatically _my_ problem because?” Lumina asked. “Let her take you trick or treating.”

“I’m in my twenties.”

“You’re twenty-one. Don’t try to sound more mature than you are.”

“You know that isn’t actually an option,” Lightning insisted, choosing to ignore Lumina’s other comment. “Just let her take you, and I’ll… I’ll owe you. Big time.”

“As much as I’d _love_ to let you be in debt to me over something,” Lumina said, waving Lightning’s comments away with a dismissive hand gesture, “I can’t. I’ve already got plans.”

“You didn’t tell me about these plans,” Lightning said, eyes narrowing again.

“Relax,” Lumina insisted. “I’m just going over to Hope’s house. Me and him and Yuel are gonna drink age-appropriate drinks and watch family-friendly non-violent Halloween movies. Is that okay with you, Claire?”

“You’re lying to me,” Lightning said, suddenly taking a step closer towards Lumina. “I talked to Hope when Serah was tutoring him earlier. He said he’s still going trick or treating with his mom this year.” Lumina tensed up when Lightning said that, and for a split second that snarky, carefree expression she always wore cracked, before she was glancing off to the side to avoid looking back at Lightning. “Where are you actually going?”

“Nowhere,” Lumina insisted. “It’s none of your business.”

“It is my business,” Lightning replied, “and you’re not going anywhere without my permission. Tell me.”

“It’s nowhere,” Lumina repeated.

“Tell me or you’re grounded.”

“I told you, it’s nowhere!” Lumina snapped, looking back at Lightning, suddenly wide-eyed. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I just- I don’t wanna go trick or treating this year!” With all that Lumina said and did, constantly talking back to Lightning and hanging around with kids a few years older than her, dressing in all black and listening to her edgy emo music, it was often easy to forget that Lumina really was still just a kid underneath it all. Right now, however, sitting there on her bed, staring back at Lightning with that upset expression on her face, she certainly looked the part, at least for a moment. It was strange to see her like this, enough so that Lightning was taken aback for a few seconds, before her face settled back into a more serious expression.

“Lumina…” she said, stepping up and walking around to the edge of the bed. “Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine,” Lumina insisted, pulling her eyes away from Lightning and curling in on herself. “It’s none of your business.”

“You usually love going trick or treating with Serah every year,” Lightning said, sitting down on the edge of Lumina’s mattress. “What’s changed?”

“I’m too old for it!” Lumina huffed back.

“According to who?”

“According to everyone, duh! Trick or treating is for babies.”

“Hope’s going trick or treating.”

“And he’s a nerd that gets his lunch money stolen every day!”

“He’s not- Does he really?” Lightning asked, and Lumina just nodded back at her solemnly. “Well,” Lightning went on, letting out a small sigh as she finally realized what was bothering Lumina so much, “I’ve known you long enough to know you’re a biter. And I don’t usually encourage that, but if anyone tries to do that to you then you have my permission to go feral on them.”

“I’m not worried people are gonna steal my lunch money,” Lumina muttered. “People know better than that.” A small pause followed that, and Lumina was still avoiding looking at Lightning, staring down towards her own sheets instead.

“You’re worried they’ll make fun of you?” Lightning asked. Lumina didn’t answer, but her silence was just as telling. “Since when have you ever cared about what other kids think of you?” Lightning went on. “If that sort of thing bothered you then you wouldn’t dress the way you do, or act the way you do.”

“That’s different!” Lumina protested. “If people make fun of me for being cooler than them it’s just because they’re jealous, or afraid of me. But if people see me trick or treating this year they’re gonna think I’m just a stupid kid.” Lightning bit back the urge to point out that Lumina, and everyone else her age, _were_ just stupid kids, figuring that wouldn’t be especially beneficial to the conversation. Instead she reached out towards Lumina, gently putting a hand against her shoulder. Lumina flinched as Lightning touched her, but she didn’t immediately pull away, which Lightning took as a good sign.

“I mean this in the most loving way possible,” she began, “because you’re my sister, and I care about you very much. But you’re easily the most terrifying twelve-year-old I’ve ever met in my entire life.” Lumina didn’t respond to that, and Lightning took it as an invitation to keep going. “There’s no doubt in my mind that if any of the other kids in your class did try to make fun of you for trick or treating, you could easily come up with a hundred different ways to torment them and make their lives a living hell. In fact, based on the stories I’ve heard from some of your teachers over the years, I’m sure half the kids in your grade are already too afraid to ever make fun of you in the first place.” There was another pause after Lightning said that, during which Lumina was still staring down at her own legs, and she didn’t immediately say anything. After a few more seconds, though, she finally looked back up at Lightning, and her expression seemed a bit softer now.

“You really think so?” she asked.

“I do,” Lightning replied. “Not to mention, anyone who would make fun of you for trick or treating is probably just jealous that they don’t have big sisters who love them as much as Serah and I love you.”

“Ew, gross, go back to the part about how scary I am.”

“Alright,” Lightning replied, chuckling softly as she spoke. “You’re terrifying, and while I’m not saying I condone it, you could easily unleash hell on anyone who tries to make fun of you.” There was a moment of pause there, and then Lightning spoke up again, her tone a little bit softer now. “I can’t force you to go trick or treating if you really don’t want to,” she said. “But it would make Serah very happy if you did. And if the only reason you don’t want to is because you’re afraid of what other people might think, you shouldn’t let that stop you.” After Lightning said that there was another small pause, one during which Lumina didn’t look at her, and Lightning had to assume Lumina was considering what she’d heard and weighing her options. After a few more seconds, though, Lumina looked back over at her, wearing an expression that was now somewhere between determined and irritated- or maybe Lightning was just bad at reading emotions. That felt just as likely.

“Alright. I’ll go on _one_ condition,” Lumina finally said, raising a finger to illustrate that point. Already Lightning had a bad feeling about where this was going, but she was willing to bite.

“Okay,” she replied. “What’s the condition?”

“You have to go too.”

“You want me to take you?” Lightning asked, and for a moment she almost would have felt sentimental about the fact that Lumina wanted to spend time with her, if it weren’t for the fact that Lumina started shaking her head so quickly afterward.

“No,” she replied. “I mean you need to _actually_ go trick or treating with me. You’re a part of it. Costume and bag of candy and everything.” As soon as Lightning heard that all the color drained from her face, and her expression immediately fell.

“Lumina,” she replied. “You know I’m-”

“Too old?” Lumina replied, taking the words out of Lightning’s mouth before she could say them.

“That’s not the same,” Lightning tried to protest. “I’m-”

“Are you worried about what other people might think?” Lumina interrupted. “I thought that sort of thing didn’t matter. How am I supposed to not care about what other people think if my big sister can’t even get over worrying about it?” she insisted. Lightning wanted to argue against that, but she had to admit, Lumina had her over a barrel here. Anything she could try to say now would just get thrown back in her face, and in a way, it was sort of humbling to realize she had just been outsmarted by a twelve-year-old.

“Fine,” Lightning eventually sighed, realizing there wasn’t any other way out of this conversation. “I’ll go trick or treating with you.”

“ _And_ I get to pick your costume.”

“I have a feeling you’re going to make me regret this.”

“Probably,” Lumina snickered. “It’s what you get for being such a pushover.”

* * *

“Come on, come on! Hurry up! I can already see people out in the streets!”

“I know, I know! Just another minute, I promise.” Serah was in the kitchen, loading up a massive bowl of candy to leave on their front porch for anyone who came by, while Lumina was standing by the doorway, huffing and stamping her feet impatiently. They were both already in costume- Serah had dressed herself up as a fairy this year, with wings attached to her back and a wand at the ready, while Lumina had dressed up in a devil costume with horns and a tail, and had splattered a copious amount of fake blood all over the entire ensemble. And with both of them nearly ready to go, that only left…

“Lightning!” Serah called up the stairs. “Are you almost ready?”

“Do I really have to go out like this?” Lightning’s voice came in response.

“A deal’s a deal!” After Serah said that a long sigh could be heard coming from upstairs, followed by the bathroom door opening, and then footsteps walking down the hall and the stairs. And finally, after a few suspenseful seconds, Lightning herself came into view.

Lumina had, after a good while of careful consideration, finally picked out a suitable costume for Lightning: a princess costume, with a bright pink, glittering dress that came all the way down to the floor, and a tall pointed hat with a veil hanging off of it. It looked like a child’s costume, really, and Lightning was astounded Lumina had even been able to find one in an adult size. Then again, compared to some of the other adult women’s Halloween costumes she had seen before, maybe this was preferable.

“I look like an idiot,” Lightning muttered.

“Don’t say that!” Serah protested. “You look good!”

“No, she’s right,” Lumina said. “She looks like an idiot.” Serah shot Lumina a look when she heard that, though Lumina just snickered in response, before turning towards the door. “Can we _finally_ get going now?”

“Alright,” Serah agreed. “We can go now.” Lumina was out the door practically the moment Serah said that, and Serah just laughed as she watched her little sister bolt down the front path and run towards the street. Lightning moved to follow after her, though she had only made it a few steps before she felt a hand grabbing her arm, tugging her backwards. She looked back over her shoulder in surprise to see Serah standing there, reaching out towards her, a little smile on her face.

“Hey,” she said. “Thanks for talking her into this.” Lightning looked back at Serah a moment longer, and then she broke her eyes away again, staring out the door in front of her instead.

“I just did it so you wouldn’t go to that party.”

“Maybe,” Serah agreed, in the tone of voice that made Lightning feel like Serah didn’t believe her at all. “But even if that’s the case, you still made her happy. You saw how excited she looked.”

“It’s kind of ironic,” Lightning said. “Seeing her get like this when earlier she was saying she’s too old and cool for it.”

“Isn’t it?” Serah giggled. “She can act cool and tough all she wants, but she’s still just a kid at the end of the day. And… _You_ can act cool and tough all you want too, but you’re a good big sister. And Lumina loves you a lot, even if she’ll never say it.” Lightning felt her cheeks heat up slightly when Serah said that, though mercifully she was saved from having to respond to it by the sound of shouting coming from out in front of the house.

“If you don’t get out here in the next five seconds I’m going ahead without you!” Lumina was yelling back in to them.

“We’re coming!” Serah shouted back, before running ahead of Lightning, still holding onto her arm. “C’mon Lightning!” she urged. And, with Serah tugging her along and leading the way, Lightning let herself get dragged out onto the street as well.


End file.
